Clover, a young black girl, tells a story of wanting to be friends with Annie, the white girl next door. However the girls are separated by a fence, over which their mothers tell them it would be unsafe to climb. The two become friends by sitting together on top of the fence and eventually discover a way to be on the same side.<br/>

Contents

Civil Rights Movement/Little Rock Nine

Fiction

A Friendship for Today by Patricia C. McKissack. Scholastic Press, 2007.
Has anyone read this? It seems like it fits our theme well, and I'm trying to get a copy so I could accurately annotate. --Julie
Ages 9-12, 172 pgs.

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson; illus. by E.B. Lewis. Putnam's, 2001.
Clover, a young black girl, tells a story of wanting to be friends with Annie, the white girl next door. However the girls are separated by a fence, over which their mothers tell them it would be unsafe to climb. The two become friends by sitting together on top of the fence and eventually discover a way to be on the same side.
Ages 6-10, unpaged.

Nonfiction

Speaking Out : The Civil Right Movement, 1950 – 1964 by Kevin Supples. National Geographic, 2006.
This traces the civil rights movement from the post war years to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Photos on nearly every page complement the text.
Ages 9-12, 40 pages.

A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 by Diane McWhorter. Scholastic, 2004.
A chronological narrative of 22 key events in the civil rights movement. Told from the perspective of an author who grew up in Birmingham and was a 6th grader in 1963 as history was made. Includes black and white photographs.
Ages 9-14, 160 pages.

Biography

When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan. Illus by Brian Selznick. Scholastic, 2002.
A gorgeous picture book biography of Marian Anderson, documenting her life through the Civil Rights movement. The book is illustrated as if it were a theater production of her life with sepia tones and plays with lighting. Back matter includes a more detailed history, a timeline, and music information, plus there is a matching DVD of Anderson's songs.
Ages 4-8,40 pages